Sunday, February 25, 2007

Gluten-Free Bread That Just Might Make You Cry [For Joy]

It is hard to believe that something as ordinary as a loaf of bread could nearly bring tears to my eyes - But that is what happened the other night when I sliced into the loaf of fresh-baked bread I had just pulled from the oven.

I had adapted a recipe that was shared on the Celiac.com forums by a woman named Laurie. I certainly won't take full credit for it, as the basic structure was her creation. I owe her many thanks.

I didn't want to get my expectations up about this bread. I figured it couldn't possibly be anything more than satisfactory, at least by the standards of someone who still remembers the taste and mouthfeel of real, gluten-loaded bread. The first thing I noticed when I sliced it was that the slices were pliable. I was certain that I was hallucinating. You know what I'm talking about - Lacking the rubbery properties of gluten, even good gluten-free bread will usually break if you try to bend one of the slices. But this slice was like an acrobat, gracefully bending nearly in half without any crumbling whatsoever. It had the appearance of wheat bread. I poked at it tentatively with a finger... It gave, and bounced gently back. It was soft as a pillow. When I bit into it, all I could think was "Holy sh*t!" I got a little farklempt. At that moment I realized what I had been missing since gluten began making me ill.

There is not a single thing about this bread that tastes or feels different than a wheat loaf. This is bread I could serve to a gluten-eating guest without shame, and feel confident they would never guess that it is gluten-free.

So, about those flaxseeds: I am not a big fan, generally, but I truly could not taste them in this bread. They play a big part of giving it the wonderful texture it has, as well as the high fiber content, but thankfully they do not contribute to the flavor. It is dairy-free, which makes it a good choice for all you GFCF (gluten-free casein-free) folks. It has more protein, more fiber, less sugar, and more whole grains than most breads which makes it a perfect fit for my increasingly healthy diet.

The next morning I woke up for work, and stumbled to the kitchen. I accepted that the rest of the slices, which I'd left in a ziploc bag on the counter, would have become dry or gummy (or that special combination of both that is apparently unique to gluten-free bread). I was blown away by the fact that the bread had the same exact texture as it had the night before. This is bread that you can make a sandwich on without toasting it first. Bread that you can take to work or pack for your kid's school lunch. Best of all, it's not one of those breads that has a mediocre flavor or texture that needs to be obscured by peanut butter and jelly in order to be edible. It isn't just good - It's wonderful. This is a loaf that stands alone.

Sift the flours, yeast and all other dry ingredients together into a medium bowl. Stir in flax meal and combine.

Combine the wet ingredients in a separate large bowl using a hand-mixer on low or medium speed. When fully combined, slowly add dry ingredient mixture and mix until fully blended, with no lumps. Scrape the sides regularly.

Grease a 9x5" bread pan, and pour the dough into the pan. Turn off the oven and immediately place the pan in it. Do not open the door again, if possible. Allow the dough to rise for 90 minutes. It should rise to the very top of the pan.

Increase heat to 350F and bake for approximately 40 minutes. The crust should be golden-brown. Allow to cool slightly before removing it from the pan to finish cooling. Do not slice until the bread is no longer hot.

This loaf does not need to be frozen, but if there are leftovers after a few days, place slices in airtight bags and freeze.

117 comments:

Thanks for your help in posting recipes -- I appreciated your input! And this bread looks yummy. I don't have the right kinds of flour, but I'd like to try it if I ever get around to baking my own bread!

JLHesse: Try it some time, it's well worth the time and energy and isn't as hard as you might think :)

Missy - Let me know how it works out!

Wheat Free - Well, my blog isn't Allergy-Free By The Bay, just Gluten-Free By The Bay ;-P Too bad there's no thorough blog devoted to recipes free of all the major allergens! That would be helpful to many people.

I have to be honest, if I couldn't eat yeast I probably wouldn't bother eating bread at all. The yeast-free bread I've had has been pretty yucky - so I'd stick to yeast-free quickbreads and Chebe (Pao de Quiejo) type breads. Do you have any yeast-free bread recipes you could share that are tasty?

Excellent bread.I made a loaf on Thursday with my machine (subbing Quinoa flour for the amaranth and sugar for the honey as I didn't have either on hand) and it's nearly gone. I'll definitely make it again.

Hi again, Bay! I made the bread and it was delicious, thanks again. Everyone loved it - even though the yeast didn't work. The bread didn't rise at all, even after two hours. Do you think I killed it somehow? Cold eggs?

G: Sounds like your yeast was bad. I've had this happen before. Did you follow the recipe to a T? You could definitely try bringing the water/milk and eggs to room temperature, but I've heard from folks who've made this that it doesn't matter. What I would do next time is proof the yeast, to make sure it's active. Many packets of yeast aren't actually active. Also make sure that the temperature is warm enough in the oven while the bread is rising, but not too warm. Unfortunately I don't have any other fabulous suggestions because I'm more or less a bread-making novice who had fantastic luck with this recipe :) If you try it again, proof the yeast first and let me know how it works out. Good luck!

Amazing tasting/textured bread! Mine didn't rise as much but it was still yummy! Does anyone know if you can put this bread in a bread machine and use the regular settings for gluten-free bread? Will it still work? Thanks!

I tried this bread 2 times and both times the bread fell in the middle!! Am I baking this bread just not long enough? I baked it 50 minutes. The taste is AWESOME indeed, but it was only about 2 inches high, not like in the picture. What am I doing wrong? I did exactly as noted. The first time I never took out the bread and just increased the temp. The second time I took it out, increased temp and put it back in for 50 minutes. Does it bake longer than that??? HELP!!! The taste and texture is awesome, just want it to look like yourS!!!!!Jolanta

Jolanta: I'm sorry to hear your bread fell! Bread can be tricky - It is like chemistry. Depending on your altitude and the humidity in the air and how good your yeast is, the same recipe can work for one person and fall for another. Ovens also vary tremendously. My recommendations: Proof your yeast before using it. Make sure your liquids are slightly warm and your eggs are at room temperature. Then also slightly reduce the liquid in the recipe. See how that works. I've heard from someone else that they had luck when they reduced the liquid content. Hope that works for you. Thanks for stopping by.

Thanks for the tip. I will try it this weekend. Regardless of the size of the slice, the taste is unbelievable! Definitely wheat bread taste!!! I do miss a good sandwich every once in a while. And those bread and butter and jam with coffee mornings are back!!!!Thank You Thank you Thank you !!

My friend baked me a loaf of this yesterday. I understand why you say it made you cry. It is perfect! I enjoyed toast with sunflower nutbutter this morning. (I don't do peanuts either.) I had missed both of them and didn't have anything to use the nutbutter on. It was like a slice of heaven. Thank you so much for sharing this. I am looking forward to sandwiches and French toast. The one time I tried making French toast with one of the GF breads it was so sour I felt sick. This will be the bread in my home from now on.

I am having a terrible time with this recipe. I've tried it, not once, but twice. I'm following the directions to a T, but the first time I didn't get it to rise, then when I baked it, it rose like crazy, then fell and it literally was almost inverted and still wasn't cooked all the way through (even though it baked for 50 minutes). - Rachel

The second time, I did NOT turn off the oven for proofing (as I was afraid my oven wasn't holding the heat) and instead left it at 100 degrees and it barely rose at all, but I continued on and the exact same thing happened. I left it in for a full hour this time and the top got very dark and toasty so I had to take it out and it still collapsed and wasn't baked all the way through.

I must say that I've never made bread before, but if you follow directions and it's still not working...could my oven be THAT far off in temperature? Is my yeast not working? I'm at my wits end...I really want that bread, lol!

Anonymous: Hi! You are not the only one to have trouble with this bread - It seems like a small percentage of people who've tried it have had trouble with it rising properly and not falling. Everyone else has it work perfectly. I think that it may be a temperature issue, that the oven I made this in wasn't well-calibrated. I have since moved and haven't yet tried this recipe in a different oven. When i do so, I will let everyone know what I find. Everyone's oven is different and yes, with GF baking especially, that CAN be the difference. However...

Everyone who's e-mailed me to say that it hasn't risen properly has had no problem once they slightly reduce the liquid. So I'm almost positive that that's the best thing to do. Proof the yeast, and slightly reduce the liquid content. Reducing the moisture tends to keep the bread from falling. And if you are finding the top browns before the middle is done (I've never had this problem), make sure you cover the top loosely with tin foil.

Jolanta was having the same problem and she wrote me back to say:

"I did reduce the liquid a bit but also extended the cooking time about 15 minutes and it worked beautifully! I love this bread!!!"

(Jolanta, hope it's ok that I quoted you!)

So give that a shot. I really want you to be able to have this amazing bread, too, so please do e-mail me if you want further advice because I'm happy to try to help you work out the kinks so you can make this recipe successfully!

Susan: Unfortunately I'm not well-acquainted with breadmakers yet, so I'm not sure. But I bet that folks on any of the celiac e-mail lists or bulletin boards could tell you how to adjust it for a breadmaker. Let me know if you figure it out! I'd love to include instructions for breadmakers.

Puzzler - I have never made this recipe without eggs, since I have no reason to. However, I have heard of people having luck with this recipe using egg replacers - Ener-G makes a gluten-free vegan egg replacer, for instance. Use the amount the package indicates is equivalent to the number of eggs this recipe calls for (a certain number of tablespoons, mixed with a specified amount of water - It says on the package). You might also consider reducing the liquid very slightly. Let me know if this works out for you!

Puzzler, I have very little experience with vegan bread baking, unfortunately. Perhaps you could get some suggestions at http://www.vegiac.com (the Vegetarian Celiac community) or http://www.glutenfreeforum.com - There are egg-allergic or vegan people at both places who probably have loads more vegan-conversion experience than I do! If you do fiddle around by adding more baking powder, let me know how that works. I also think you could probably afford to reduce the liquid by more than 1/8 cup.

I was posted as "anonymous" in my earlier post, for lack of having an account (didn't realize I didn't need one, lol).

Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I took out the 2 egg whites (thereby decreasing the "liquid"), replaced the water with milk and put it in a bread maker (instead of my pathetic, temperature-challenged oven) and I was able to have some of this wonderful bread! I put some butter on it while it was warm and it tasted just like a piece of soft wheat bread...yummmmmmy! Thank you so much for your suggestions!

This bread was amazing!! I made it today in the snow/sleet/ice/rain storm we had here in New England. It made the whole apartment smell wonderful. I didn't have any amaranth flour (would love to know where to find some), so I substituted teff flour and it was still delicious. It's been so long since I had truly SOFT gluten-free bread!! I'm having a hard time keeping my husband, who had NO dietary restrictions away from it. Guess I'll have to hide it just for me! This recipe will definitely be one that I use often. THANK YOU!

This bread really did nearly make me cry. It is wonderful. The loaf is still cooling on the rack on my stove. I could not wait for it to completely cool before cutting into it. So delicious!

I made one slight alteration. Instead of amaranth flour (which I can't stand) I subbed in an equal amount of quinoa flour. I put all the ingredients into my bread machine (wet ingredients on bottom) and set it to the Gluten Free setting (gotta love the Breadman machines!) It is a bit oddly shapen, but tastes amazing. I am thinking of reducing the water by a couple of teaspoons to see if it will rise and be a bit more fluffy. If not, it is still a fantastic bread. I want to eat the whole loaf right now!

Oh, and I ground my own flax meal in my mortar and pestle. The aroma is amazing!

Aw... Shannon, I'm so glad to hear it worked for you! I've never made it in a bread machine. I actually JUST got an e-mail asking me how to make it in a bread machine - Do you have any advice? Reducing the liquid sounds like a good call.

I would say to put the wet ingredients in first and layer the dry ingredients over it, with yeast at the very top. I am going to try to reduce the water by 2-3 T to see if it changes the density. It may also respond well to an additional 1/4 t yeast (since 2 1/4 t seems to be a pretty standard amount.)

If they have a machine with a gluten free setting they should definitely use it. Otherwise, I have heard to use either the quick rise setting or to use the separate dough setting followed by the separate cook setting. (This eliminates the additional kneading.) Karina has a post in her blog that has a bunch of fabulous comments posted.

I brought a slice of the bread to my friend's house so she could try it. She thought it was fabulous and she is not gluten free!

Shawna - No, it is likely just because of using too much liquid - Depending on your elevation and your oven, you may need to reduce the liquid a bit - That is usually what causes this recipe to fall. One of these days I'll rework it with less liquid to see if it is more consistently successful in other peoples' ovens that way. This recipe works perfectly in mine but you are not the only person who has had it fall. Some combination of too much liquid and/or using different flours (which have different liquid absorption rates) is usually the culprit.

this bread is great. I've added a 1/4 cup each of sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds to it with great results. This is the first bread my 4 year old will eat that's gluten free and the best bread I've had with 20 years of being a celiac. thanks a lot!

Hi, this is an old post but in case anyone's still struggling with bread I have some hints that usually work for me. I haven't tried this recipe yet, but I will, with the following modifications that I've used with other recipes:

1. Sometimes it takes a gf bread a long time to rise. Have patience. I've left it in the warm oven sometimes for a couple of hours. It rises eventually (usually).

2. I bake it using a technique I read about on the Gluten Free Girl blog, with some modifications of my own. It goes like this: put the bread dough to rise in a dutch oven or another heavy baking dish with a lid (I use a rectangular corning ware baking dish)(use baking spray on both pan and lid). After the bread has risen, take it out and preheat the oven to 450. Bake with the lid on until done. How long to bake depends on your oven and the moisture in the dough and the thickness of your baking dish. Start checking after 20 minutes or so. I've been using a food thermometer inserted into the bread to measure the temperature--it should be about 180 degrees when fully baked.

This technique usually results for me in a crusty loaf that doesn't fall. I think it's because the loaf gets crusty all around and that seems to hold it together.

I made this bread in a breadmaker, and it rose perfectly but it tasted disgusting! I had to use plain rice flour instead of sorghum flour though because I can't buy it here in NZ! What would give it a bad taste though? My mum described it like cod liver oil! The texture of the bread was so nice though :(

Anonymous: I'm sorry to hear that. I've had dozens and dozens of e-mails about this recipe. I've heard occasionally that people have trouble getting this loaf to rise adequately (it worked great for me multiple times, and for most people I hear from, but some peoples' ovens or elevation levels are different and so it will need minor reduction of liquids). But never once have I heard a complaint about the taste. It is an innocuous, just-like-wheat-bread flavor. So this leads me think it's likely you used an ingredient that had spoiled, or mis-measured. Both flax seeds and the whole grain flours can spoil. It is also possible you mis-measured, which can ruin a recipe. Doublecheck whether you used the correct ingredients - In gluten-free baking in particular, this can make or break a recipe (for instance, you can ruin a recipe by using potato flour instead of potato starch). Also, some people do not like the taste of flax seeds - Though I noticed no taste of flax in this recipe, I have one friend who won't eat any flax at all because to her tongue they taste like "eating dirty socks." So your mileage may vary.

Anonymous: All of these ingredients are gluten-free, which is why it's called "Gluten-Free Multigrain Miracle Bread." It is safe for celiacs and people with gluten intolerances, though I advise purchasing ingredients from companies that do not process wheat on the same equipment as their non-gluten flours.

Grace: Quinoa is very very dense and has a unique flavor, but might work. Chickpea flour I would stay away from because personally I hate the taste it imparts to bread. Brown rice, if finely milled enough, can be an okay substitute - I used sorghum because it is very mild in taste and is very finely milled (thus the bread is not grainy in texture). I really don't know what substitutes work because I always make this recipe exactly as posted here. Let me know if you find any substitutes you have success with, though.

I made this bread a couple of days ago and it was delicious. I substituted almond flour for amaranth flour because I didn't have amaranth.

It raised beautifully, and only fell slightly. It only took 45 min to raise.

I have been gluten free for 10 years and have baked a lot of bread. I have found that you cannot let it raise very much or it will raise up when you cook it and then fall flat. Mine raised a little higher than I like before I caught it. That is probably why it fell a little.

As for the ones that don't raise, I would check and make sure the yeast is fresh. Yeast often is not active a month or two before it's expiration date. I like to use mine when it has at least several months to go.

has anyone had trouble with the bread feeling sticky and gummy when you slice it? I reduced the liquid by 1/8 cup and it still feels this way...it sticks to the knife! I bake until it's well above 190...any advice? feel free to e-mail me directly at kristenji@mac.com

Hi Kristenji - The only time I've heard about that problem it's been when there was too much liquid used. Did you use the exact same flours I call for, or different flours? Different GF flours absorb water at different rates, which is why I ask. I have never had that problem with this bread - It always comes out light and fluffy. I am wondering if baking it a little longer might work for you? Did it rise properly? A lot of times gummy breads are breads that fell.

Hi, I've been trying to bake this bread for my sister, who's gluten-free, and no matter what I do it keeps falling. I've tried it 4 times now and this last time was the most frustrating. It rose beautifully, baked perfectly, but when I took it out to cool it just shrunk right down. I reduced the liquid, extended the baking time, tried a little more yeast....I'm at a total loss as to what to do.

ering - so sorry to hear that :( i'm assuming you read the comments above or on Recipezaar that talk about adjusting the recipe - Sounds like you tried a lot of different things. Did you use all the ingredients I call for including the same flours? If so, I am guessing it's either humidity or the temperature of your oven. it's been a little while since i made this recipe - i keep planning to try it in a different oven (such as the one in my new house) to see if maybe the reason some people have problems with it is the variation between ovens. one of these days i promise i'll get around to it. i would love to see what happens if i bake this in a different oven. it seems like some people say it turns out better for them than any other bread, and others say it totally falls or shrinks.

I am so inspired to try this recipe! I can't wait for tomorrow so I can dig out all the flours. I had given up on making GFCF bread. They all were very disappointing and I didn't eat much bread before so I just gave up and bought bread when I wanted to make french toast. But seeing your description and how much you enjoyed your homemade GF bread made me want to try again. Hopefully, I will be one of the ones it works for it seems like there is some magic involved to get it right! Thanks!

GFCFMom: I sure hope it works for you! I've had great luck with making GFCF bread. I have another recipe I'll be posting soon. If you're worried, try cutting down the liquid a little bit from this recipe. Let me know how it turns out.

This is to Anonymous with the bad tasting bread. Check to see if your oil is rancid. I recently made my first loaf of bread (regular white bread - not gluten free)and was so very proud. It had an off flavor but I still took it to work to show off. Luckily my boss is well versed in baking and she picked up on the flavor right away. I went home and smelled my oil and sure enough it smelled just like my bread tasted. Now since I smell my oil before using - I have never had that problem again.

Thanks for the recipe. Some of the ingridients where a bit pricey but it was so worth it. My mom hadn't eaten bread in like 3 years since the GF breads sold in stores are nasty. She absolutely loved it! I am not allergic to gluten but I tried it too and it was delicious!

This came out great! Best GF bread I've eaten, bar none. Mine came out just like the pictures. I made the following changes to the recipe (due to what I had on hand):

1. Olive Oil as the oil

2. 1/2 C Millet instead of sorghum

3. 1/4 C Garbanzo Bean flour instead of Amaranth

4. 2 Eggs and 1 white (instead of 2 whites). I used large eggs, though.

5. I used rice vinegar, which has some sugar in it.

6. I used Agave instead of Honey

Notes about the dough: The dough is very wet compared to wheat bread. I threw a bit of brown rice flour (1 Tbsp or so) on it, then realized it was probably supposed to be that wet. If you've baked bread before, go against your instinct to add more flour...the dough is supposed to be on the wet side.

Hi ThereI have tried to make this loaf a numebr fo times but am having no luck with the yeast. The loaf does not rise enough. Do you put the yeast with the dry ingredients and then add the wet ones or do you proof the yeast and add when you add the wet ingredients. Any help with yeast useage will be great.

Hi Boney - Sounds to me like you're using dead yeast! Yeast can die quicker than you might expect and even before its official expiration date. With this recipe I originally made it by just mixing the yeast with the dry ingredients but you can feel free to proof it, which is what I do now - I add the water and honey and yeast in a measuring cup and put it in a warm oven for 15 minutes or until it gets foamy. If it doesn't foam up and expand in size, the yeast is bad. You can just scrape all the contents into the batter. One word of warning: This recipe was designed in my old oven, which was apparently not the most temperature-reliable - So some folks have found their bread collapses a bit. But I haven't heard many problems with its initial rise, so that's more likely to be your yeast (could also have to do with elevation, humidity and your oven of course!) Hope this helps.

Back again. One other issue I am having with the bread - after getting the yeast side right - it collapses in the middle quite a lot. It rises beautifully then on switching the oven on it collapses down about 2cm and then rises again. But it does fall in the middle and the loaf comes out with a V top? Any suggestions?

Boney - Hm, I haven't had that problem but I know that sometimes when loaves fall it has to do with the liquid content being too high, so you might try reducing the liquid a bit. I know that GF bread almost always deflates a little upon cooling because of the structural differences, it has no gluten to help hold it's structure the way regular bread does. So do expect it to shrink a little, but you're right that it shouldn't be falling completely and certainly not just in one area! You can also try removing the bread from the oven, keeping it covered and as warm as possible somewhere while you preheat the oven, then putting the bread straight into a preheated oven. That may help.

So, has anyone cooked this at an altitude over 5000 feet? I tried and it didn't rise much. I'm used to making wheat bread and i have to make a sponge to get it to rise properly, so would that work for this? HELP I have an 11yr old boy who is eating this and not happy to have regular stuff removed from his diet:)THANK YOU

This is good! I've never made bread before, but the store bought GF bread was so bad I thought I'd try. I've made it in the oven 5 or so times, in Seattle, in winter. I took the advice of other posters and decreased the water by 1/4 cup, added 1/2 TBS honey, and increased cooking time by 10 minutes.

It worked great, but I hate all the dishes and babysitting, so I bought a Zojurushi BBCC-X20 bread machine. It makes a 2 pound loaf. Can anyone tell me if this recipe is a 2 pound recipe, if it isn't how might I go about making it one?Also, the bread is "tacky" in the middle, does this mean it is moist, or undercooked?

Ok - I made this as written 1st time and it collapsed (although it was still delish). 2nd time around I left out the extra egg whites and homey (used brown sugar instead) and I increased the flour by 1/2 cup (1/4 sorghum, 1/4 amaranth) AND IT CAME OUT PERFECTLY!!!! Great recipe! Thanks!

*sigh* This post was exciting for the first 30 seconds until I finished the description and got to the recipe. Your description of what is wrong with gluten free bread is spot on, it's both dry and gummy (how do they even manage to combine those two unsavory qualities!), and it's too dense and hard. But if a substitute has to have eggs to be like real bread, then it's not like real bread- before celiac diagnosis I could easily buy my choice of delicious breads that were vegan, without even having to bake it myself. So if it was really like real bread, there would be no need for eggs to make it work. Who cares how good it tastes if you have to be cruel to other creatures to enjoy it? I'm willing to bake if it means I can make something that has a taste and texture like real bread, but, I'm not willing to torture chickens just for my own pleasure. I'm sure there is a recipe out there somewhere for a gluten free bread that is both delicious and vegan, without having to sub in egg replacers (egg replacers don't seem to work that well for inexperienced bakers), because bread does not need eggs. That's just weird.

Actually there's nothing weird about GF bread having ingredients in it that non-GF bread doesn't have. Why are eggs weirder than... xanthan gum, for instance? We all know that most GF bread needs gums to taste right. I get that you have an ethical issue with eggs, and that's fine, but there's nothing unusual about using eggs in bread - Especially for people who are used to eating challah (this is a Jewish blog after all).

There are lots of GF vegan bread recipes on the blogosphere. Try checking out a vegan or egg-allergic gluten-free blog. There are lots of them. One place to go is Bookofyum.com, another is http://karinaskitchen.blogspot.com (she's not vegetarian but is allergic to eggs)

Hi all- I loved the taste - and I cheated a bit per a recipe i had that was a no rise wheat breat i make for the holidays for my non gluten free peeps (I have to cover my face for fear of the flour puffing up, but I cut the shortening in first so it stopped that from happening quite alot) and I am digressing- sorry, what I add to this recipe is add a teaspoon and a half of baking powder- I had tried 2 tsps but I could taste it. It rose(SP?) right up and still fell a little. Thanks os much for the recipe- i will be working on those variations posted here.

Thank you for this wonderful bread - my daughter can now enjoy sandwiches again! I, too, experienced a problem with the bread rising properly and made some adjustments based on others' comments. I reduced the water to just under a cup, resisted the urge to open the oven door at any point :-) and set the timer to 36 minutes. I did NOT let the oven come up to temperature before setting the timer. The result is a beautiful dark golden loaf that is about 3-1/2" high

I followed this recipe almost exactly, except I used quiona instead of brown rice and used coconut flour in place of amaranth flour. It rose and was fine till about 2 minutes after I took it out of the oven, then inverted. So I will try it again, but this time with less water.

Ellen - Gluten-free flours all have very different properties. Coconut flour should never be substituted cup-for-cup for other flours, in particular. And quinoa is much heavier than the flours I used. You will have to play around with the amount of egg and liquid if you're going to substitute flours that are so different from the ones called for in this recipe. You could try using less liquid or, if you're going to use coconut flour again, you may want more egg and less water.

I have made this bread several times since I last commented and I have found that using 3/4 cup water instead of 1 cup results in a higher rising loaf. Using less water makes the dough stiffer, so a put it in the bread pan and then smoosh it around with a wet rubber spatula. I keep the spatula very wet so the dough won't stick to it. I level off the loaf and make sure it gets into all the corners.

After baking, I let it cool a while in the pan as it is slightly stuck to the sides and I think this helps keep it from falling a bit.

Then, I spray a bit of oil on a serrated knife, cut off the end and eat it. I don't wait for it to cool. When I saw the instructions in the recipe that said to let it cool before slicing, I thought, "Get real". Who lets bread hot out of the oven cool off before they eat it? Not me.

Thanks for sharing your tips on making this loaf even higher, Jeanne! That's fantastic. And let me be honest, I never let it fully cool. I laughed when you said that. But I do find it's less sticky when I let it sit for a bit before eating it.

Thank you for your help, I am still not entirely sure what flours can be used for what as well as what can be subbed for other flours. I did though try the recipe again the other day, using 1/4 cup less water and it did not even rise this time. I did though manage to make it to Whole foods today and bought more of the flours I did not have on hand, two being the brown rice and the amaranth. I will try it again later tonight and keep my fingers crossed.

Elle: If you use the flours I called for, and reduce the water by a tiny bit, you shouldn't have any problem - The people who've had issues with this bread falling after baking have always found that reducing the water a bit made all the difference. I need to re-test this recipe in my current oven to see if it works as well for me as in my old oven (ovens can differ a lot). But I get lots of e-mails saying this recipe turns out great, and I hope you'll be one of those!

Substitutions can be confusing. Generally, you would want to replace something like brown rice flour with something such as white rice flour, amaranth flour, or sorghum flour. You could also try half quinoa flour and half white rice flour for brown rice flour, though I've never tried that. Something like tapioca flour you could replace in some recipes with potato starch, at least partially. You want to try to substitute with flours that come from a similar type of source. Don't replace starches with flours or flours with starches. The thing you should also know is even if you make logical substitutions, every flour has a slightly different taste, texture, and ability to absorb moisture... so you'll need to adjust liquid accordingly. My general rule of thumb is to follow GF recipes word for word the first time, then start to experiment a little.

Note to By the Bay - aka: The "Chicken Torturer"... Would like to ease your *guilt* (wink) and let you know that chickens can lay fertilized eggs (the kinds that will become chickens)- and UN-fertilized eggs (the kinds that will become, well, stinky if you don't eat them).

Since most eggs on the market are of the UN-fertilized kind (meaning: no rooster in with the hens), I'm not sure how eating eggs would be seen as cruelty to chickens.

Coconut Flour -- Could anyone tell me how to use coconut flour for this recipe? Most recipes I can find on the web calls for crazy amount of eggs (like 6 or more) with 1/3 C coconut flour. It just doesn't make sense to expect such eggy recipe would produce fluffy, 'elastic' bread. Any guide line for this? -HJ from Chicago

hyungjung - I would discourage you from using Coconut Flour as a replacement for grain-based flours in most gluten-free recipes. It is not meant to be used that way - It absorbs tremendous amounts of liquid and it has a different flavor and texture. It also needs a LOT of egg to support it. So instead of replacing other flours with Coconut Flour, I would suggest following the recipe in this book (or using them as a base from which to create your own recipes)

Cooking with Coconut Flourhttp://amzn.to/bN1y9t

Coconut flour is not the best flour for yeast breads, but it's great for muffins and other recipes like that (which do need a huge amount of eggs).

PS: You can use very *tiny* amounts of coconut flour just to flavor recipes that also contain grain or nut flours, without increasing the eggs, but you will need to increase the liquid since it soaks it up so much.

Thanks for your reply. I know Coconut flour is really not flour and it acts very differently from the grain flour. It has high fiber and low carb, tho. I've been looking for a decent recipe that does not call for dozens of eggs to make a little something. I will definitely try your recipe. Do you know a good GF recipe for pizza crust? I have one with coconut flour and it tastes pretty good but again, it calls for so many eggs I can hear my artery cloggin up.

My girlfriend has a wheat allergy and so I spent the other night looking for bread recipes (all her store boughts suck) and came across your site. This recipe looked encouraging so I gave it a try. Let me tell you, when she tasted it, she lit up. It's just like a nice loaf of fresh wheat bread! I'm actually going to make up a pre-mix of the flours so I can make it quicker. I won't have to buy bread for myself anymore either, Gluten-Free or not I'll eat this stuff over store bought any day! Next try.... Cinnamon Raisin.... mmmm

I changed this recipe a little. I used olive oil instead of veg oil (better for you) and I am using 3 whole eggs instead of 2 whole and 2 whites (I hate waste and it's easier than separating). It does not noticeably change the taste, texture or flavour.

Thank you sooo much for posting this recipe. Unfortunately though I too am having trouble with this loaf keeping it's volume. 1st time it rose beautifully then promptly fell once it was out of the oven. But the taste was divine. The second time I omitted the egg whites and it hardly rose at all. So both loaves ended up the same size. Still, the taste is great. Tomorrow instead of decreasing the liquid I'm adding 1/2cup flour probably quinoa or millet. I live at the foot of the mountains not in the mountains so I don't think elevation is an issue.

At what altitude did you make this breat at when it came out well for you. I am definitely going to try this but I want to make adjustments since I live at 5280 miles above sea level here in Denver, Colorado.

I made this bread twice. The first time, it rose but fell. So the second time I added 1 tablespoon of millet flour and 1 tablespoon of soy flour. Although the modified version didn't raise as well, the crust is more like sandwich bread (thinner and fluffy).In both cases, for my taste there was too much honey. I can still taste it in the bread, which isn't supposed to happen (I believe). So you might want to reduce the honey. The first time I used rice syrup and it's still too sweet.For the rest, this is Holy Grail material... perfect texture. Next time I'll try substituting guam for xanthan because 3 teaspoons of xanthan wreck havoc on my stomach.

I am excited to try this recipe! Thank you so much for posting it as well as explaining the differences of other flours and how they interchange!!In response to the Chicken torture comment, I think what the poster meant was referring to the conditions that the chickens that lay the eggs are kept in are torturous. I have a friend who is a chicken farmer and has chicken houses and it is true, the conditions are terrible. HOWEVER, the way I solved this problem for my family (who enjoys eating eggs) :) is we buy free range eggs (which means these chickens are free to roam and are not kept in tiny cubicles as is the practice of farmers who raise them in mass quantities). They sell free range in most grocery stores. We have since been blessed to have moved near a local farmer who raises free range chickens, thus, I am excited to get to support her efforts as a local farmer, as well as getting to eat eggs! I have even been able to visit the hens who lay the eggs. ;) :) Farmers Markets are often a good place to inquire of local farmers. Anyway, I just thought I would post this as a potential option for those who are interested. I am very much looking forward to more recipes! :)

WOW! My daughter has Celiac and I have been trying various bread recipes, some have been OK, but none have been like 'proper' bread until today. I baked a loaf, didn't have amaranth flour so subbed with millet flour, it came out of the oven about 1 hour ago and I will have to bake more for my daughter since I have eaten most of it. Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. I will be baking this regularly for her.

Hi there, I'm wanting to give this bread a try tomorrow and am wondering if you have any suggestions as to what I might be able to substitute the ground flax seed with. My stomach has a difficult time digesting it. Thanks for your help and am looking forward to giving this a whirl :)

Have you ever tried going 30 days without eating gluten intolerance? It might sound strange to some but how do you really know what it feels like? I spent many years of trial and error trying to figure out what was wrong with me. The difference in my energy levels and overall health is amazing now that I found my gluten free diet!

OMG Made this this evening as was getting totally annoyed at paying £2.50-3.00 a loaf for stuff that really didnt ought to be calling itself bread. It's true that it taste exactly like regular bread!! was yummy when I had the first slice this evening and hoping it will remain so for my sandwhiches over the next few days. I wish had read to the end of the comments and next time I think I might try it in the bread machine in the rapid cycle.

Thank you for the recipe. My loaf fell, but I am going to try it again with a little less water. The taste and texture are great. I am anxious to have another slice tomorrow to see how it holds up. I am tired of making a loaf of bread to throw it out the next day because it is suddenly to dry to eat. I am hopeful. Thanks again.

I truly hope this bread works out for me, I've tried so many kinds of gluten free breads and they either fall apart, their hard as rock and dry like sand, or whether they be fruit breads or sandwich bread they look uncooked in the middle no matter how long I leave them in the oven for. Do you think it'll work if I use egg replacer because I cannot have eggs, as well what would you suggest to replace the yeast with? Both my mother and I have Candida so we can't have yeast, I usually use baking powder and baking soda but I do not know? Could you suggest something for me?

I finally got around to trying this bread. The texture WAS great, however, I noticed a "dirt" taste that I have tasted in some gf hot cereals that I have previously tried. Any idea which flour could be the culprit and/or what substitutions I could use in place of it?

I finally got around to trying this bread. The texture WAS great, however, I noticed a "dirt" taste that I have tasted in some gf hot cereals that I have previously tried. Any idea which flour could be the culprit and/or what substitutions I could use in place of it?

AMAZING! I have attempted baking multiple GF breads with little success. Most have been very dense and about 3 inches tall. My husband is very patient with my test breads, even if he does bit into a sandwich with my GF bread and end up with only the filling in his hands, He says the bread usually just turns to dust. LOL!

Not this bread, it was so very lovely! It looked and tasted like the "real" thing.

Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. There is hope for us who are gluten intolerant and foodies :)